Career and work
Kumar graduated from Dalhousie University’s medical school in 1990 and trained in internal medicine before establishing a career in family medicine. He has described himself as one of Canada’s early hospitalists and later ran a private medical practice in Ontario. [1][2]
Over more than two decades as a family doctor, Kumar also developed experience caring for patients with chronic pain, palliative-care needs and mental-health conditions. He later published The Bipolar Doctor, drawing on both his medical career and his experience as a patient in the mental-health system. [1]
What has been publicly discussed
- Kumar has publicly identified himself as having bipolar disorder. His memoir describes years of depression and mood instability before he was eventually hospitalized and diagnosed with the condition. [1]
- He later made the diagnosis public through The Bipolar Doctor, using the book to describe his experience as both a doctor and a patient in the mental-health system. [1]
- Kumar’s memoir description states that he experienced depression from his teenage years, followed later by increasingly severe mood swings and erratic behaviour that affected his relationships with colleagues, spouses and patients. [1]
- It also describes a psychiatric hospitalization lasting more than 15 months and multiple suicide attempts. [1]
- Before receiving a bipolar diagnosis, Kumar was treated with antidepressants, with mixed results. [1]
- The publisher description of The Bipolar Doctor characterizes Kumar’s later course as one in which he “fought his way back to mental health.” [1]
- The publisher description of The Bipolar Doctor says Kumar made it his mission to advocate for reducing stigma around bipolar disorder and increasing recognition that the condition can be treated with appropriate diagnosis, treatment and consistent follow-up. [1]
- The book is also presented as criticizing the way people with mental-health conditions can be mistreated and marginalized within healthcare and society. [1]
Sources and other resourcesExpand to view the sources used in this profile and resources to learn more.
Sources used for this profile
The following sources contain information that supports the claims made on this page.
R.T. Kumar / Google BooksThe Bipolar Doctor Principal source for Kumar’s medical career, bipolar diagnosis, depression, mood instability, hospitalization, suicide attempts, treatment, later improvement and advocacy.
Municipality of Chatham-Kent“Locum Becomes Chatham-Kent’s Newest Family Practitioner” Contemporary municipal material documenting Kumar’s Dalhousie medical education, internal-medicine training and family-medicine work in Ontario.
Learn more
Recommended books and other resources about Rohit Tinni Kumar and their experiences.